FLORIDA SERVICE SECTOR FIGHTING OFF RECESSION

The nation's unemployment rate may be at a 29-month high. The nation's factories may be sliding toward recession. But a government report issued Friday suggests that service economies like Florida's are still showing resilience.

The Labor Department's monthly roll call said U.S. payrolls rose by 268,000 in January, following a 19,000 increase in December. The January figure is three times the 90,000 sum expected by analysts.

Service sector jobs -- like those that dominate the South Florida economy -- fueled the growth.

However, the nation's job increases may have been outstripped by layoffs. The manufacturing sector has wiped out roughly a quarter million jobs since June -- including 65,000 in January alone.

As a result, the nation's jobless rate has risen to 4.2 percent, the highest since September 1999.

The unemployment rate among blacks rose to 8.4 percent from 7.6 percent in December. The jobless rate for Hispanics rose to 6 percent from 5.7 percent.

The unemployment numbers could get higher soon: The January report does not include the more recent layoff announcements.

The pinch has been felt in South Florida. Employees at Kellstrom Industries, Motorola Inc. and AmeriJet International have lost or will lose jobs.

Despite those cutbacks, Florida workers are faring better than their counterparts in other states.

"Florida seems to be holding up well given everything that is happening in the rest of the country," said David Iaia, an economist at Standard & Poor's. "Florida will be affected by the national slowdown, but not as severe as other places."

The knock against service job-based economies is that they generally offer lower-paying jobs than manufacturing posts.

The talk among economic development groups in recent years has focused on luring better-paying technology jobs to the region. But as layoffs hit that sector, it is the service industry -- for better or worse -- that is helping the state stay afloat.

One local company, HomeBanc Mortgage in Deerfield Beach, is planning to add workers.

"We're bullish. We think the market's going to grow," said James Flood, HomeBanc's senior vice president.

Buoyed by Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, HomeBanc expects to see more mortgage loan and refinacing business this year.

And as the volume of work rises, so will its employee count. Flood said HomeBanc's South Florida roster would swell about 40 percent to 120 people this year.